It clicks. “She wants us to go there, so Aislin has to give her the spell Luna thinks she owes.”
Aislin grunts begrudgingly. “Exactly. And according to Nicholas, Aleesa’s in withholding until we save her.”
“So why don’t we go on a rescue mission?” I ask. “Aren’t we pros at that?”
“I can’t go.” Aislin stands up and tugs down her white frilly skirt. “If I step foot in that realm, Luna will force me to use my magic and free her into this world. And I won’t do it. I won’t use my magic for evil.” She storms off, her hair flying behind her.
“Aislin, wait.” Laylen chases after her, his head almost clipping the top of the doorway.
“Did I miss something?” I ask Alex.
“They’re arguing about something.” He slips a finger under my chin and steers my head toward him.
“They’ve been fighting a lot,” I say. “Is something going on that I don’t know about?”
“I think it’s the lack of what’s going on that’s the problem.”
“I thought they were doing better—I thought both of them were over their insecurities.”
He lets out a breath and leans back in the sofa, resting his foot up on his knee. “Aislin’s pissed because Laylen disappeared the other night and won’t tell her where he went.”
I zip my lips together. I know where Laylen went that night. “Oh yeah… hmm… seems like a silly thing to get mad over.”
He reads me like an open book. “You know where he was, don’t you?”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell.” I bite my lip and change the subject. “So what else did Nicholas have to say? And why was he delivering messages for Luna? I thought she hated him?”
“She does,” he says. “I’m sure there’s more to Nicholas’ story than what he’s saying. I think he might be in some trouble with Luna and as a favor, is luring us there.”
“So what do we do?” I ask, fiddling with a hole in the knee of his jeans.
“The only thing we can do—go and save Aleesa. Bring her back.” He flattens his palms on the tops of my bare legs, triggering goosebumps on my skin. “But you’re going to need to practice some more on your fighting skills.”
My muscles stiffen as I recollect last night’s dream.
“What’s wrong?” A worry-line grooves between his brows.
“It’s about the dream I had last night,” I say and divulge what happened.
“You dreamt Annabella came and stole me away?” he asks when I’m finished.
“Not Annabella.” I sigh. “It was The Queen of the Afterlife disguised as Annabella.”
His thumbs knead my thighs. “Gemma, everything’s going to be okay. The connection of our souls is what keeps us free. They can’t just take one of us.”
“But what if there’s a loophole,” I breathe. “The Blood Promise that connected our souls… what if there was some kind of loophole and someone discovered it. I mean, we were just kids when we made it. A lot could have gone wrong.”
“There’s no loophole.” He brushes my hair back, his eyes blazing with passion. “Not with this. I’ll love you forever and nothing will change that.”
My lips part in protest, but his mouth comes down on mine and steals my words away. “What about the Crystal of Limitation?” I pull back, breathless. “I know Nicholas knows where it is.”
His face sinks. “Even if he did know where the crystal was, Nicholas isn’t going to tell us. I think our best bet is to find another way to free your dad.” He leans in again, and this time I let him kiss me. I let myself forget about the problems. I forget about everything for the moment. Because that’s what his kisses do to me—they take me away.
***
“Hurry up and get changed, then we’ll go practice,” Alex says after an hour of making out.
I lick my swollen lips, nod, and hustle upstairs. I pretend to go to my room, and then backtrack after Alex leaves the bottom of the stairway.
I rap on Laylen’s door, crossing my fingers he’s alone. “Laylen, open up. It’s me.”
A shuffle of footsteps and the door creaks open. “You know she’s super pissed, right?” Laylen lets me in and shuts the door. He’s wearing black jeans and no shirt. Cupping his shoulder is a circle ringed by gold flames—his Keeper’s mark.
“Why aren’t you dressed?” I ask.
His eyes roam down my body and he grins. “I should be asking you the same question.” He slips on a black button-down shirt. “There. Better?”
I shrug and make myself at home on his bed. “Sorry Aislin’s pissed. You can tell her if you want. As long as she won’t tell Alex. Because if he finds out, this plan goes straight down the toilet. You know he won’t be on board with it.”
He tosses a pair of black boots on the floor and joins me on the bed, buttoning his shirt. “Nah. It’s better she doesn’t know. You know how nervous she gets when she’s trying to keep a secret.”
I nod, agreeing. “So what’d you find out?”
He smiles, pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, and hands it to me.
I unfolded it. “Is this an address?”
“To a very important place.” He picks up a boot and puts it on. “Have you ever heard of a woman named Nalina?”
I shake my head. “Should I have though?”
“She’s Dyvinius’ sister.” He laces up the boot. “Who just happens to be a very powerful Foreseer.”
“I see where you’re going with this,” I say. “But why would she help me free my dad? She’s Dyvinius sister. And Dyvinius is dead set on keeping my dad trapped in his own head. It’s like he has a grudge against him or something.”
“He does.” He steals the paper from my fingers and wiggles his foot into the other boot. “Delmonte, the man who gave me this paper, says Dyvinius won’t let your dad out because he’s scared he’d try to take Dyvinius’ place as the leader of the City of Crystal.”
“Come again?” I sputter. “How could my dad become the leader of the City of Crystal? Isn’t it like an inherited position or something?”
“It’s a power position,” Laylen clarifies, tying the shoelace in a knot. “And I guess before your dad was imprisoned in The Room of Forbidden, he was getting more powerful than Dyvinius.”
“So Dyvinius is glad my dad’s trapped there. Because if he’s there then he can’t be out here, trying to dethrone him or whatever,” I say. “But what’s this Nalina person going to do about it?”
“Well, according to Delmonte, Nalina holds a big grudge against Dyvinius for banishing her from the City of Crystal and she might disclose the location of the Crystal of Limitation.” Laylen takes a studded belt out of a dresser drawer. “Delmonte’s a real chatterbox. I think from now on we should go to him for info.”
“Isn’t he a vampire?” I ask uneasily.
Laylen loops the studded belt through the top of his jeans. “Not all vampires are bad, Gemma. You know that.”
“I know, but I thought you had to be careful around them after you killed Vladislav.” I watch him warily, wondering why he’s so relaxed. Laylen is basically on death row with most vampires after killing Vladislav—a very important vampire—to save me.
He buckles his belt. “God, I’d almost forgotten about that. It seems like it has been forever.”
“But have other vampires forgotten about it?” I point out. “Because if you cross paths with one that knows what you did, you’re in some deep trouble. There are good vampires, Laylen, but there are some evil ones too.”
He flashes a grin, faking offense. “Are you saying that I can’t defend myself against a mob of angry vampires?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to ever find out.” I gently touch his arm, wanting him to understand. “I worry about you, you know. And besides, it’s my fault you’re in this mess in the first place. You killed Vladislav because of me—because I wanted to free my… mom from The Underworld.”
A glitch of quietness stills the room at the mention of my mom, who died to protect me from Stephan.
He rubs my back. “I’ll be careful. I promise. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“I always worry about you.” I twist my necklace—the one my mother gave me. It’s silver, heart-shaped, and encrusted with a purple stone. “Just to be safe, maybe I should go to Nalina’s on my own.”
“She’s a Foreseer, not a vampire,” Laylen says. “If anyone’s in danger there, it’d be you.”
“She doesn’t need to know I’m a Foreseer,” I tell him. “I haven’t used my power in a while.”
A smile threatens his lips and he tugs on a strand of my hair. “So the mark on the back of your neck won’t tip her off or anything.”
Rearranging my hair, I cover the black circle wrapping the S—the Foreseer mark—on the back of my neck. “Yeah, I guess it might.” I huff out a breath. “You’re right. We should go together, but not now. Right now I have to go practice fighting.”
“Tonight then? After everyone dozes off?”
“Sounds like a plan. Besides, I’ve been sleeping like crap anyway.”
“Are you having nightmares again?” he asks and I nod. “You want to talk about it?”
I shake my head. “It’ll be okay. I just stress about dreams sometimes.”
He looks like he wants to press me for the details, but he doesn’t. That’s the good thing about Laylen. He knows when to back off.
We head our separate ways. I go to my room and change into a pair of torn jeans and a black and red tee. Then I pull my hair back in a ponytail and meet Alex outside. The sun is shining against the clear sky. Birds chirp, the leaves crinkle, and the lake splashes against the shore. Ever since I died and came back to life, I notice the little sounds of life. Like my heart for instance; I’m always aware of it, beating in my chest, reminding me that I got a second chance at life.